The Pittsburgh Steelers are now into the offseason, following a year in which they had high hopes for Super Bowl success, but ultimately fell short of even reaching the postseason at 8-8. It was a tumultuous season, both on the field and within the roster, and the months to follow figure to have some drama as well, especially in light of the team’s failure to improve upon the year before.
The team made some bold moves over the course of the past year, and some areas of the roster look quite a bit different than they did a year ago, or even at the start of the regular season. Whether due to injuries or otherwise, a lot has transpired, and we’re left to wonder how much more will change prior to September.
How will Ben Roethlisberger’s rehab progress as he winds toward recovery from an elbow injury that cost him almost the entire season? What about some of the key young players, some of whom have already impressed, others still needing quite a bit of growth? Will there be changes to the coaching staff? The front office? Who will they not retain in free agency, and whom might they bring in?
These are the sorts of questions among many others that we have been exploring on a daily basis and will continue to do so. Football has become a year-round pastime and there is always a question to be asked, though there is rarely a concrete answer, as I’ve learned in my years of doing this.
Question: How many Steelers players will test positive for Covid-19 when they report to training camp?
Despite the fact that there has been no formal testing yet, the NFL has already documented several dozen self-reported cases of players testing positive for Covid-19. In an interview a few weeks ago, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin acknowledged that they had a couple of positive cases, though he would not elaborate beyond saying that it was early in the offseason and they were now fine.
It is important to remember, of course, that having Covid-19 without symptoms is still a serious issue, because you are still capably of transmitting it to others, and just because you had no symptoms doesn’t mean the same will be true for those to whom you spread it.
When the other major leagues had their players report—and college teams as well—they all experienced a relatively high number of positive tests. This was especially true for college football teams, more than other college sports, so that could be a concern.
It has already been reported that the NFL is bracing for a large number of initial positive tests as the testing process gets underway with training camps beginning to open yesterday. The Steelers and the rest of the league will open their training camps in two days. Dozens of players will likely test positive around the league, possibly even hundreds.
